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5 key takeaways: Scathing audit details problems at Nashville schools

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Parents walk out of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Board of Education board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Parents became angry when board members did not talk about the quality of education for their children. Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean

Nashville Director of Schools Shawn Joseph listens to people speak during a Metropolitan Nashville Public Board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Anger and frustration was shown at the December school board meeting as the district struggles to find $13 million to balance its budget. Some school board members have said they do not trust or have confidence in Joseph.
Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean

Residents show their support for Nashville Director of Schools Shawn Joseph during a Metropolitan Nashville Public Board of Education board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean

Silas Lowe speaks during the Metropolitan Nashville Public Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Anger and frustration were shown at the December school board meeting as the district struggles to find $13 million to balance its budget. Some school board members have said they do not trust or have confidence in Shawn Joseph. Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean

Parents walk out of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Board of Education board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn., because they became angry when board members did not talk about the quality of education for their children. Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean

Metropolitan Nashville Public Board of Education board members Sharon Gentry and Nashville Director of Schools Shawn Joseph listen to people speak during a board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Anger and frustration was shown at the December school board meeting as the district struggles to find $13 million to balance its budget. Some school board members have said they do not trust or have confidence in Shawn Joseph.
Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean

Liz Lyons, center, speaks outside the Metro Nashville Public School building explaining why a group of parents walked out of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Board of Education board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Lyons said because parents became angry when board members did not talk about the quality of education their children need. Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean

Nashville Director of Schools Shawn Joseph listens to a fellow Metropolitan Nashville Public Board of Education board member speak at a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean

Residents show their support for Nashville Director of Schools Shawn Joseph during a Metropolitan Nashville Public Board of Education board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean

The audit by the law firm Bone McAllester Norton PLLC examined board policies on employment and a random selection of internal HR investigations, finding widespread problems in how staff conducted those inquiries.

The report included interviews with more than 40 "stakeholders" within the school system.

Communication issues

A perceived, if not actual, lack of communication regarding standards, procedures and expectations has led to low morale among employees.

That led to a perception that the district has not followed its own procedures and policies, the report found. The report said there was a feeling that Joseph did not address those concerns.

Those concerns persist throughout elementary, middle and high schools, evidencing low morale, the report found.

"While this low morale does not relate only to human resources practices and procedures, a majority of the consternation felt by MNPS employees revolves around talent acquisition and the hiring process," the audit found.

Delays in hiring and issues with pay

Principals and community superintendents said the hiring process is complicated and well-qualified teacher applicants do not take jobs with the district due to HR delays.

Principals said they are responsible for interviewing candidates, but recommendations are sometimes not acted upon for days or weeks by the human resources department.

The report said those issues led to the loss teachers who took jobs in other districts and to an inability to fill hard-to-fill jobs in areas such as science.

Several principals said that, while they were at the very top of the pay scale based on education and experience, there were other principals with less experience and education whose salaries were higher, according to the report.

Nashville Director of Schools Shawn Joseph listens to a fellow Metropolitan Nashville Public Board of Education board member speak at a meeting on Jan. 8.(Photo: Mark Zaleski/ The Tennessean)

The report recommended the district immediately conduct a complete audit to determine any outliers.

"Should the audit reveal such discrepancies, all salaries should be brought into compliance with the pay scale as published by MNPS," the report said. "To do otherwise would be unconscionable."

Issues with human resources investigations

A portion of the review focused on HR investigations and found that there is "virtually no consistency in the way investigations are completed by individual investigators." Some investigators used forms, while others used no documents at all.

Many of the people tasked with completing investigations had little or no formal training on how to conduct a thorough and professional investigation, the audit found.

It said investigators routinely failed to properly date or sign notes about investigations. Some files contained Post-it notes.

Reporting to Tennessee's State Board of Education

The report also found that the district is considered an outlier in how it reports to the Tennessee State Board of Education.

When a state licensed employee is placed on leave, suspended or recommended for charges of dismissal, the director should immediately report that to the state's licensure office, according to state board rules.

A final report and action by the director should also be reported to the state education department. The report found that required reports were not made or were delayed pending final action.

The state board also notified Joseph that his educator license was under review in January.

Nashville public schools spokeswoman Dawn Rutledge said in January that the district is working closely with the state board to address any concerns. Joseph said he is committed to resolving any issues.

A review of HR investigations in August by The Tennessean found Joseph reported only one educator misconduct case — despite 19 educators being suspended, fired or resigning after district investigations during the 2017-2018 school year. Two other teachers were recommended for review of termination by Metro Legal.

In response to the August report, Rutledge said the district found that "a handful of cases which should have been reported to the state were not properly reported."

School board politics

CLOSE

People both in support and against MNPS Director of Schools Shawn Joseph attended a heated school board meeting on Jan. 8.
Nashville Tennessean

The audit is sure to fuel further divisions on the nine-member board.

So far, Board members Amy Frogge, Jill Speering and Fran Bush have called for the firing of Joseph.

But in an interview Thursday, Board Chair Sharon Gentry sent a shot across the bow at fellow board members, accusing one of them for leaking the report to the media to "weaponize it to malign the reputation of the leader of this district during budget season."

Gentry, who supports Joseph, did not say who specifically she thought leaked the report.

Gentry and a district lawyer on Wednesday declined to release the report, citing attorney-client privilege. The audit was first reported by NewsChannel 5 and independently obtained by The Tennessean on Thursday morning.